Ultimate Spider-Man, Vol. 2 [Hardcover]

Brian Michael Bendis (Author), Mark Bagley (Illustrator)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Marvel (July 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785110615
• ISBN-13: 978-0785110613
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #349,722 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ultimate Spiderman will rock your universe..., March 7, 2003

By 

M. Howell "likes good things" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ultimate Spider-Man, Vol. 2 (Hardcover)

Picking up where the first Ultimate Spiderman hardcover collection left off (the first book collected issues 1-13), this book collects the next thirteen issues of the mind blowing excitement that is Ultimate Spiderman.
Written by Brian Michael Bendis (Daredevil) with art by longtime Spiderman artist Mark Bagley, this collection is phenomenal. Ultimate Spiderman is the retelling of the Spiderman in a modern world. Brian Michael Bendis's writing is spectacular and captures the innocence and excitement as Peter Parker/Spiderman learns to use his abilities and deal with high school at the same time. Mark Bagley's art is, as always, gorgeous, smooth, and brings Spiderman to life in a way that makes you wish you could live in the streamlined world of a comic.
This excellent hardcover features two great Ultimate Spiderman stories: his first battle with Dr. Octopus and his second face off with the Green Goblin. Not to be missed by anyone who has ever enjoyed Spiderman!!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In the modern era, Spidey is still the best!, October 19, 2003

By 

Paul Rothbart "screenwriter" (New Milford, CT United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ultimate Spider-Man, Vol. 2 (Hardcover)

Having been a huge fan of Amazing Spider-man since the age of 6, (1967 and still read it today!) I wasn't sure about the Ultimate series. I was pleasantly surprised! The story of Peter and his alter-ego has never been better. The artwork is outstanding. The stories stay true to the spirit of Spidey and still adapt it to the modern world that teens reside in today. It may sound incredibly strange, but Spider-man was the hero and inspiration that got me through the tough high school years. If I was a teen today, Ultimate Spider-man would provide the same service. This is a must for any true Spidey fan.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ultimate Spider-Man takes on Doc Ock, Kraven and the Green Goblin, November 5, 2003

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ultimate Spider-Man, Vol. 2 (Hardcover)

This second volume in the hardcover collection of "The Ultimate Spider-Man" brings together the third and fourth trade paper back collections, or, if you go back to the originals, issues 14-26 of the comic book. First up is "Double Trouble" (14-21). Just when I thought the game plan with regards to the love life of his alter-ego Peter Parker was to go directly to Mary Jane Watson, passing Betty Bryant and Gwen Stacy, when scribe Brian Michael Bendis drops the latter into the action. This version of Gwen is big on the mascara and perfectly willing to pull a switchblade on a bully, both of which are completely valid reasons for Peter to have his eyes pop out of his head when he looks at her. Not even her police Captain father can reign in this blonde tornado.

At this point in the comic book the stage is merely being set for the impending love triangle, but I have to tell you that what is happening here is clearly a take off on "Dawson's Creek." Seriously. Peter is Dawson, Mary Jane is Joey, and Gwen is Jen (No, Flash is not Pacey; Kong is closer to being Pacey than Flash, but Peter Parker does not have a friend, which means Harry is not Pacey either). This should prove to be interesting, especially given that Mary Jane already know's Peter's big secret. But at this point the main problem is that Aunt May has an over inflated opinion about her nephew's love life. Yes, things might actually be worse for our hero this time around.

The title of "Double Trouble" has to do with the fact that Spider-Man has not one but two villains after him (I was going to say two super villains, but that would not be the case). The new and improved bad guys this time around are Doctor Octopus, who has come out of his coma to discover his tentacles are fused to his skin, and Kraven the Hunter, who is now a reality television star from Down Under. Clearly, the more you know about the original Spider-Man comics and his various foes the more you will enjoy Bendis's refinements and provocative changes. At the end of this collection Spider-Man enjoys his biggest moment in the sun since the spider bit him, which quickly follows with a particularly low moment for Peter. Even when we think we know the rules of the game, Brian Michael Bendis continues to surprise us.

"Legacy" (#22-26) and continues the "re-imagining" of the character, this time with the new and evolved Green Goblin and the question of Peter Parker's secret identity. It is the latter that is becoming one of the defining features of "Ultimate Spider-Man." The recreation of the Green Goblin in the mode of the Hulk makes sense to me; I always had a bit of a problem with the idea that insanity and a costume could allow the Goblin to slug it out toe-to-toe with Spidey (note the armor upgrade of the Goblin's costume in the blockbuster film version). But even more impressive is the way Bendis reworks the whole secret identity issue between the two; a lot of super villains have found out the secret identity of their arch enemy, which almost always involves an attempt to kill the superhero in question. However, the Goblin has a different plan, of sorts, for Peter. At the end of "Double Trouble," the Volume 3 collection, Spider-Man actually enjoyed a moment of glory. Of course it is all going to get dashed big time in this collection.

As is the case with the previous collections, "Legacy" plays off of our knowledge of what happened in the first ten years or so of "The Amazing Spider-Man." The result is what might be the biggest shock he is ever going to throw our way and if you every think Bendis has gone too far this may well be the point. While your jaw is dropping at that point do not neglect to pay attention to the double look at a pivotal conversation between Spider-Man and the Green Golbin that Bendis creates; that was a nice little replay he threw into the mix.

Mark Bagley continues to provide the distinctive pencils for the series with Art Thibert's inks (sometime aided by Erik Benson); hopefully this partnership with last longer than the original Stan Lee/Steve Ditko partnership. For those of us who have a comprehensive understanding of the Spider-Man mythos it is impossible for "Ultimate Spider-Man" to really stand on its own terms because we can also see the additions, deletions, and alterations. But if your familiarity of the good old days comes mainly from the movie, then I can certainly see where you could enjoy this all at face value.

At this point in the series Peter has told Mary Jane Watson that he is Spider-Man, but Norman Osborn knows the big secret, the Kingpin and Electro have seen Spider-Man unmasked, and Doctor Octopus is mumbling Peter Parker's name in his unconscious state. In "Legacy" we discover that somebody else knows the secret as well and that this has some rather significant implications for our hero when he turns eighteen (Peter is still about sixteen at this point). One thing you have to say for the story Bendis is spinning here is that he is always on the edge in terms of his re-imaginings. You might accuse him of going too far, but you cannot dismiss this series as a pedestrian reinterpretation of the Spider-Man saga. To date, I like it a lot.